"There has got to be an easier way to do this" Donnie complained as he and Karai carried a mattress over their heads from the dump through the twists and turns of the sewer system.

"Well pushing it was easier" Karai reminded her brother

"Yeah but then it gets all covered in sewage and i don't know about you but i don't want to clean that" Donnie said to which Karai shrugged in agreement.

The two kept walking in silence, Karai was in the back so the only talking came when Donnie warned her of a turn up ahead.


When they finally arrived at the lair they set the mattress down on it's side, finally opting to push it. Once again moving without a word, the two pushed the mattress down to Karai's room and through the door which she had purposely left open. Karai had been living with them for just two days short of a month now and Donnie hadn't been in her room since the second day of the second week when he hooked up the electricity. The room had changed a surprising amount since that day not so long ago and now, instead of a closet under construction, it actually resembled the bedroom of a teenage girl. Pushed up in the left corner against the back wall was a small dresser which Leo had helped her bring back from the dump a few days ago. On top of that was her make up and a few scattered earrings. Hanging right above the dresser on the wall was a mirror with a light green colored wooden frame. Donnie also noticed that her Juji-ken sword was also resting atop her dresser. Aside from that the room was still bare for the most part, an old CD player was plugged into the right corner by the door and she had placed a lantern covering over the lightbulb which dangled from the ceiling in the center of the room. A scroll decorated with the images of cherry blossoms hung from the right wall and as they pushed the mattress up against the back wall Donnie noticed the plaid purple blanket on the floor in the far right corner.

"Thanks" Karai said once the bed was in place, snapping Donnie out of his thoughts.

"No problem" Donnie said, wiping the dirt from his hands before leaving the room.


It was about two hours later when Donnie found Leo sitting on the floor of the pit watching a Space Hero's rerun.

"Hey Leo, when you get a second can we talk?" He asked, something had been bothering him ever since he helped Karai move her mattress into her room. Of course it wasn't anything that couldn't wait until Leo's show was over.

But Leo didn't wait until his show had ended, it was an episode he wasn't a particular fan of and he had been watching it just for something to do so he turned around to face Donnie.

"What's going on?" He asked as Donnie took a seat on the couch with a sigh.

"Ok this is going to sound really weird but… do you know anything about Karai?" Donnie asked, not really sure how to phrase his question.

Leo looked at his brother quizzically, not quite understanding what he meant.

"Um…" Leo began but Donnie jumped in

"I mean i know she was raised by Shredder and everything. But earlier today i was in her room and it was not what i expected" he tried to explain but Leo still couldn't understand what his younger brother was getting at.

"What do you mean?" Leo asked, he couldn't think of anything else to say.

Donnie groaned, frustrated that he was having such a hard time getting his point across.

"I mean it looks like a normal bedroom. She doesn't have as much junk on her floor as we do but she has a poster on her wall and her earrings scattered on her dresser and she has that old CD player none of us use." Donnie began listing but soon ran out of things to say.

"And?" Leo asked, still unsure of what Donnie's point could possibly be.

"And i was surprised." Donnie concluded, a solemn and somewhat guilty expression settling onto his face.

"I don't know what i expected that room to look like but when i saw it i realized that, and i realized that she's been here for almost a month and i don't know anything about her" he tried to explain and finally Leo understood.

Thinking about it Leo realized that he didn't know Karai as well as he knew his brother's either. He knew a few things, he knew she hated hamburger on pizza and that next to Mikey she was the only one in the house who knows how to cook. He didn't know anything about her childhood but he had decided not to ask her about that, she would tell them if she wanted to.

"I don't know but like you said she hasn't even been here for a month, just give it some time" Leo advised, Donnie only gave a small and nearly undetectable nod in response.

"Yeah i guess you're right" He muttered.


It was the middle of the night when Karai woke up in a cold sweat. Panting heavily she sat up in her bed and crossed her arms as she calmed herself down.

"Just a dream" she whispered to herself as she lay back down

"Jus a dream" she repeated and so she tried to sleep but the memory of her dream kept her awake.

Nightmares were not exactly common for her but they weren't uncommon either. It seemed like for every good dream she ever had she would have a nightmare the fallowing night. Needless to say they generally didn't bother her, she'd wake up in fear, take a few deep breaths, then go back to sleep. But once in awhile it was bad, and even after what felt like twenty minutes (when really it had only been about ten) Karai still couldn't get back to sleep she decided to get up and get a drink of water.

Getting up she checked the time on her T-phone

"Great" she muttered in annoyance when she saw that it was three-fifteen in the morning but then she figured that at least that meant everyone else was asleep and she wouldn't be seen.

Sneaking our of her bedroom, and making sure that the door didn't make a sound when it closed behind her, Karai made her way into the kitchen but just as she got there she noticed a light in the living room. Curiosity getting the better of her, Karai made her way into the living room and saw that the light was actually coming from Donnie's lab. Knowing that Donnie never left the door of his lab open when he wasn't in it she peered inside and couldn't help but giggle at what she saw. Donnie sat at his desk asleep, face down on top of some papers and a pencil still in his fingers.

Being a light sleeper Donnie was awoken by the sound of his sister quietly laughing in the doorway.

"What time is it?" He asked groggily as he raised his head and dropped his pencil

"Three-fifteen" Karai answered and Donnie rolled his eyes, mentally scolding himself for falling asleep in the lab again.

"What are you working on?" Karai questioned

"Upgrading the Shellraiser" Donnie answered and Karai nodded but said nothing else.

As Donnie began organizing his papers into a pile Karai was about to leave but Donnie stopped her.

"Hey what do you want for your birthday?" He asked, Karai eyed him skeptically.

"My birthday isn't for another month" she reminded Donnie, her voice filled with suspicion.

Donnie only shrugged "I know" he said and so Karai thought for a second

"Nothing" she finally answered but Donnie frowned

"Seriously?" He asked with a very annoyed look on his face, ok so he had asked that to try and find out more about her so not only was that going down the drain with her answer but he really did need to think of something for her birthday.

"I don't need anything" Karai told him with a shrug but he only sighed

"Well what do you like?" He questioned her but when she merely shrugged he groaned in frustration.

"Karai seriously i don't know anything about you" He finally admitted, Karai's expression turned back into one of skepticism and confusion.

"That's not true, you know my birthday" she told him somewhat sarcastically but his frustrated expression didn't change.

"That doesn't count" he said

Karai frowned but looked at Donnie who was just staring absently at his desk, now it was clear that this was about more than trying to get her a birthday present.

"If it helps, i'm happy you know that much" she said. Donnie looked up at her from his seat but she was staring absently at the floor.

"The other day i found a card Mikey made for my ninth birthday, he said he used to make me a birthday card every year" she explained, looking up as if she were asking him to confirm this.

Donnie nodded to her, he knew Mikey had made some birthday cards for Miwa when they were kids but he didn't know how many years he did it for. For all he knew Mikey could've still been doing it through last year. But something about Karai's face was strange when she told him this, her expression was sad.

"Yeah, we always knew about you. I can't remember a time when we didn't. You've always been our sister it's just we never thought we would ever meet you" Donnie explained, he didn't know exactly what but he knew he was trying to reassure Karai of something.

He was about to say something else when he noticed Karai cross her arms, each hand gripping part of her other arm.

"Why do you do that?" He asked, he was well aware that his question sounded like something he would've rolled his eyes at Mikey for asking but his curiosity got the better of him.

Karai shrugged but other than that she ignored the question.

"I wasn't here, my birthday and my name are the only things you should know about me" she assured Donnie but he could tell that the smile she gave him was fake.

There was something she was considering telling him, maybe an answer to his question. Be it that or something else Donnie could tell that something, something was bothering her.

"Well you're here now, so tell me something" Donnie told her not really expecting her to tell him anything but she gave him a small grin.

"When i was sleeping in the living room i watched your Super Robo Mecha Force video's after you all went to bed" she admitted which Donnie was very surprised to hear and the surprise must have been written all over his face because Karai started laughing.

"What's with the look?" She teased

"I don't know… i guess i just didn't think you liked that kind of stuff" he admitted

"I saw half an episode when i was six. I always wanted to see the rest but i didn't even know what channel i was watching when i saw it, guess after all these years i got my wish" she explained and Donnie smiled.

Returning her brother's smile Karai pushed herself off of the doorway where she had been leaning.

"Alright I'm going back to bed, night" she said as she left the lab

"Night" Donnie called after her.

He continued to sit at his desk for a moment after she was gone and he smiled to himself, maybe he didn't know as much about Karai as he did his brothers but one thing he did know was that slowly, over time, that would change.


As Karai crawled back into bed a small smile fell across her face. She hadn't wanted to tell Donnie but the reason she always crossed her arms, the reason she comforted herself, was because she always handled her fears and problems alone. No one had ever comforted her, no one had ever told her things would be ok and no one ever talked to her when she needed it the most. So when Donnie mentioned that she had always been their sister, she felt guilty. She knew it wasn't her fault that she hadn't been around when they were kids, but still she wished that she had been. But tonight it was once again proved to her that she was really a part of this family because, although he may not have realized it, Donnie was there for her. He cared enough to want to know more about her and as she drifted off into sleep her only thought was that he probably would never understand how grateful she was for that.